A/N : Time for my next attempt at VMars LoVe fic, and I hope I do this new idea justice, as we go right back to the beginning. I have seem similar fics done before, but hopefully mine is different and interesting enough to catch some attention!
Title : Stuck In The Middle With You
Rating : PG-13
Summary : On the night Lilly steals the sex tapes and Aaron goes after her, a split-second decision saves Miss Kane's life. It also puts Veronica in a very awkward position, and breaks Logan's heart along the way. The two ultimately find comfort in each other.
Disclaimer : All characters from Veronica Mars belong to Rob Thomas and other important people who aren't me. The title of this story is borrowed from a song by Stealers Wheel.
Chapter 1 - Complicated
"You dirty dog!" Lilly gasped as she found video taping equipment stored in the bookcase of the Echoll's pool house.
Her affair with Aaron had been fun, but this ended it. She hadn't realised quite how perverse he was, but he would pay for it, she decided, as she grabbed the tapes from the secret shelf and ran to her car. It was quite obvious that when Aaron realised the tapes were gone, he'd come after her. Lilly was tough but a grown man could easily beat her down if he had to, and she knew how rough Mr Echolls could be.
Driving a little faster than the limit allowed she shot through a red light, one hand on the steering wheel the other reaching into the glove compartment and grabbing the first scrap of paper she could lay her hands on. Lacking a pen she pulled out an eyebrow pencil from her purse as she swung the car into the kerb outside Veronica's house.
Scribbling a few words, she tied the note and all the tapes together with one of the elastic hair ties she kept on her arm. Flinging the little package into the mailbox, she scrambled back into her car and put her foot down hard on the gas. Once she was home, she'd be safe enough, Aaron wouldn't try anything if he thought her parents or Duncan might see and they were bound to be home at any moment.
Her heart beating faster than it should, Lilly whooped and cheered to herself, revelling in the adrenaline rush, and the catastrophic mayhem she would cause when those tapes hit the media. Her parents would have a fit, Aaron would be ruined, and she'd be even more famous than she already was.
As she arrived at home, she leapt from the car, and hurried through the house, losing her clothing one piece at a time. In her room she scrambled into mini shorts and a small top, before grabbing her sun-screen and a magazine, and sauntering outside to the pool, like everything was normal.
"Backup? What is it boy?" Veronica asked the dog as she came from her bedroom and found him up on his back legs, looking out of the front window. She arrived by the glass just in time to hear the squeal of tyres and catch sight of a cars tail-lights disappearing into the distance.
With a frown, Veronica hurried out the front door. She glanced down the street but the car was already gone. When she turned back she found the front of the mail box hanging open, and a small package inside.
"V, he knows I have these, he'll come after me, keep them safe, L" she read aloud from the note, her mind going into overdrive as she ran back inside with the tapes.
Grabbing her video camera she set it up by the TV, shoving the tape inside, at the same time dialling Lilly's cell on the cordless phone. Clearly something very weird was going on, and she feared for her best friend. Of all the wacky stunts she pulled this was a new one on Veronica, and she didn't like it.
As she heard Lilly's voice telling her to leave a message, Veronica threw the phone aside and turned to the TV. The sight that met her eyes shocked her and made her feel very sick.
"Lilly and... Mr Echolls?" she gasped, wondering how her friend could do this, to herself, and to Logan, and with this man of all people! He had a violent streak, they all knew it. He'd hit Logan before, beaten him for the smallest of crimes. If Lilly was right, if Aaron knew she had these tapes, that she might make them public, Veronica just didn't like to think of what he might do.
Grabbing her bag and her keys she bolted out of the door and dived into her car, headed for the Kane house just as fast as she could. Lilly's life might very well depend on her.
When Aaron caught up with Lilly she was laid out on a sun lounger by the pool, looking just as innocent as the next Neptune heiress.
"I want those tapes back!" he yelled angrily, not buying her little routine. He knew she'd taken them, and he knew being the little princess brat she was, she'd happily ruin his career without a moments pause if he gave her half the chance.
"Mr. Echolls, hi!" Lilly grinned, peering up at him, squinting a little at the bright glare of the sun, "Sorry, Logan's not here"
"I am not playing with you" he threatened and yet Lilly remained unphased.
"Oh, really" she smirked as she stood up in front of him, "You're usually very interested in playing with me" she reminded with a sexy look that had little or no effect at this particular time.
"You give me the tapes, you stupid little bitch" Aaron boomed, his temper well and truly lost as she tried to walk away and he grabbed her arm pulling her back. His other hand went for the large ashtray on the table, but never actually grabbed it as a jolt of electricity went through his back and he crumpled to the floor.
As he fell, Lilly turned and spotted Veronica standing there, a look of shock on her face as she realised just what she'd done.
"Lilly! Veronica!" Duncan called as he ran from the house to see what was going on, abandoning his gym bag on the way, "I heard yelling and... Mr Echolls?" he gasped at the sight of his best friends father on the ground, in the foetal position.
"Damn, Veronica!" Lilly actually laughed, despite the gravity of the situation, "That was cool!"
Duncan looked between the two girls with a shocked and questioning look. At the same time Veronica stared with disbelief at Lilly who continued to giggle. She might've been killed if circumstances had been different, and she thought it was a big joke.
"Hello?" Logan called as he knocked on the front door of the Mars family home, "Anybody home? Veronica? Lilly?"
He frowned when he got no answer. Whilst he hadn't expected any adults to be present, he had thought the two girls might be here, after all when Lilly wasn't home she was either with him or Veronica. He so needed to talk to her, though whether it was for the sake of another argument that finally ended them, or a make-up that meant they'd stay together always, he wasn't entirely sure yet, he just wanted to see his girlfriend.
Defeated he leaned his forehead on the door, his elbow catching the handle which shifted. It seemed the door was closed but not locked and he could here noises coming from somewhere.
"Veronica?" he called as he opened the door and let himself inside.
He soon discovered the sounds he'd heard were not people in the house but the TV that had been left on, playing a tape from a video camera. He couldn't understand what he was looking at first of all as he stared at the fuzzy picture on the screen. When light dawned in his mind he felt physically sick. Lilly and his father, they'd been having an affair, and for whatever reason there were tapes of it. Logan lasted all of thirty seconds before he had to run to bathroom and heave.
To Be Continued...
A/N2 : Apologies in advance for the shortness of the first chapter - please leave a review and let me know what you think so far!